For example, a band like Joy Division. Two masterpiece albums in the form of Unknown Pleasures and Closer, and the untimely death of Ian Curtis cut it all short. They were even heading into the direction that New Order eventually went in, and it would have been interesting to see what Ian Curtis would have done if they fully made the leap into electronic music while he was still alive.
I’ve got two nominations, in very divergent tastes -
Zeigeist - a fun pop electronica art project that was intended as a one-and-done experimental piece. Obviously, shut down as intended - after producing one of my all-time favourite albums.
World/Inferno Friendship Society - sure they were around for a while and pumped out a lot of albums, but it’s also felt like they were just on the cusp of breaking through and getting the acclaim they deserved, at any given moment, with each new release. … Jack Terricloth died in 2021, and while revival & tribute projects are ongoing, the band will have died with him.